After drafting, Bo Nix says he received a message from the Broncos legend.
Count Hall of Fame quarterback and former Denver Bronco John Elway as a Bo Nix supporter.
After Denver selected him, Nix disclosed that Elway, who won two Super Bowls in 16 seasons with the team, texted him to congratulate him.
“That was a cool text for sure, made my dad a little mad, I think, because that was his favorite growing up so he was a little jealous,” Nix told Jeff Legwold of ESPN. It was kind of like, ‘Wow is this actually happening?’ It was fantastic. However, one thing I learned from that was that it’s a unique city where everyone supports the next generation.”
Some believed the Broncos overreach when they selected Nix with the 12th overall pick in the draft, even if Elway approved of the move. Longtime draft analyst Todd McShay said on “The Ryen Russillo Podcast” that head coach Sean Payton made a “arrogant pick” with this selection. He also mentioned that the 24-year-old quarterback did not receive a first-round grade from any of the talent evaluators.
Nevertheless, Nix has more experience than more youthful players and might dispel his skeptics. He passed for 4,508 yards and 45 touchdowns on an NCAA-record 77.4 percent of his passes in 2023 at Oregon, good for third place in the Heisman Trophy vote.
So far, it seems like he’s adjusting to Payton without any problems.
Nix said to Legwold, “[Payton] has built a pedigree; when he talks, you listen.” It can be quite a bit; I believe my instruction is excellent. They’re doing a fantastic job of streamlining things and making it easy to understand so I can quickly get up there and start playing.”
When OTAs resume on Tuesday, quarterback Jarrett Stidham may start with the first team, according to Mike Klis of Denver’s KUSA-TV. But don’t be shocked if Nix takes his place.
Since selecting Jay Cutler with the 11th overall choice in the 2006 draft, Nix is the first quarterback the Broncos have chosen in the first round. They’ll want to know if their decision was the right one.